The Progression Principle

I finally got an opportunity, and by opportunity I mean a 30 minute window, to create another post for you guys. If an apology is needed for my infrequent contributions as of late, I apologize 😦

What I want to present to you today is the concept of progression. Of the countless clients and athletes I have trained in the past there is a vital piece of information that is poorly understood, or it is understood but poorly practiced. When most people start a workout plan, let’s face it, if you were a chain, there would be a lot of weak links in that chain. The weak links could be poor diet, old injuries, lack of motivation, lack of effort, psychological reasons, time, etc…. So what happens is that we attack these weaknesses with an initial plan, and wouldn’t ya know it, you usually succeed….for awhile anyway…..then you hit your first plateau and get discouraged. Perhaps at this point you faced your adversity and kept forging ahead with your initial plan, or perhaps you threw in the towel already. The problem with the “adversity-facer” and the “quitter” is that they’ll likely both experience the same fate: failure. Ouch! That’s a harsh word is it not? It is at this point that you have to evaluate what you have been doing, be honest with yourself, and find the weak link that is holding you back. A frustration that I have experienced in working with people is that while their strength training program and conditioning program is progressing, their lack of progression in their nutrition plan is failing them. It could very well be the other way around as well. You could be eating like a saint, clean as a whistle, but if you keep on training the same way, which happens all the time by the way, you will not change. Now your weak link is your training program. As a good friend and mentor of mine has always said, “if you’re gonnna do 2/3 (66%) of the work, you are gonna get “D” results.”

So do yourself a favor and apply the progression principle to your training routine. Better yet, apply it to your life. This principle has fed my life with purpose and challenges for me to get “progressively” better in many areas of my life. So take charge of your life and don’t be a bystander!